Im glad I caught this thread because I was wondering the same thing (waiting on delivery of the new MINI!). I was under the impression that the car has to be babied for the first couple thousand miles, but I will definitely do more research now. Good thing too because I lack the self control to drive like a grandma for more than a few minutes!

 

An oil change is about $90 - $100. DIY: 5 quarts of oil (MINI OEM) and the filter (OEM) are about $50.

 

The actual changing of the oil is the easy part. But storing and disposing of the oil is a pain is a hassle for me right now.

 

Why's that? Buy an oil pan for $5 at Walmart, bring it back to Walmart, empty it into their oil recycling thing and you're on your way.